Divine Insurgent
by Moonlight Site
Summary: Continuation of 'The Castle Falls' -- Christian begins the arduous journey of finding a way off Planet Zi. Feel free to read and review.
1. Return to Where the Story Began

There was a bit of a hiss about the air as the grass, flowers, and trees each shared a dance with the mid-days wind. This particular oasis stood almost as a barrier to the world around it, a beacon if you will; keeping the world from being totally swallowed in darkness. Buried within the tranquil field stood a small cabin, a domicile which hadn't seen residents in quite some time; and it was this humble cabin which drew the attention of Christian's glowing ruby eyes.  
  
Closing up his color-saturated wings, he descended softly on the untainted grass. A deep sigh escaped his lips as upon landing, he went into a slight slouch. Exhaustion was beginning to take both his body and his mind. He hadn't slept for what felt like months and had been doing nothing but running or flying from one side of the planet to the other. At last though, he'd hoped that his stop here... that the house he called home in his youth; would yield him the opportunity to rest.  
  
"I hate coming here..." Melissa's voice echoed in the back of his mind.  
  
Christian offered no comment in return, he knew all too well the reason for his sister's loathing of this house, "Have you... been back here, since that day?" she asked.  
  
"Occasionally." Chris responded truthfully, "...every now and again to tend to Mom's grave."  
  
It was now Mel's turn to be silent, and again he knew the cause, in all these years he'd never brought it up face-to-face with her, but he knew that the girl harbored no love for the woman who birthed her. A clash of ideals of epic proportions was about the best way to sum it up. "So... why'd you send the Zoids here, anyway?"  
  
"Well... I didn't want anybody to find them, and what better place to remain in solace than this?" She answered dryly.  
  
Inserting his hands into his pockets, Christian lowered his head and started toward the house as a means to end the conversation. Neither of them really wanted to be here, Melissa more so than Christian so he quietly began contemplating ways to make the stay here as short as possible. It was easy enough not to live in the past, but the task becomes difficult when you're standing in it.  
  
With the house but a stone's throw away, Christian stopped entirely and began to stare intently at the surroundings... the wind's strength growing in intensity, whipping his hair about in all directions. "What's wrong?" Mel asked, tension gripping her voice.  
  
"...there's somebody here..." Christian returned, narrowing his eyes as he inspected the tall field grass. "I concur." Danius added internally, his senses admittedly more fine-tuned than the person he was attached to at the moment.  
  
The movements were quick, precise; the rustling made from its footsteps masked by the ferocity of the wind. Whoever it was either had the luck of the devil or knew exactly when to strike an opponent. "So much for solace." Chris smirked, ready to pull the Cross Driver from its dormant state. Before he could do so, the attacker leapt from its earthly coverings and sprang high into the air. His eyes thrust upward to catch sight of a Demonshead bearing down on him, lances drawn. A heartbeat separated Christian's desperate roll away from the Zoid, and the black and red chimera from skewering the earth.  
  
Chris had only gotten to his knees before the Demonshead uprooted its weapons and prepared for a second assault; snarling viciously from its overly large maw. Not giving the matter a second thought, Christian withdrew the two ends of his Cross Driver and connected the silver extensions into its staff form, twirling the weapon above his head while studying the movements of his attacker; waiting for the right opportunity to move in.  
  
Maneuvering its giant lances behind its equally giant cranium, the Demonshead let out an impressive growl and chose to charge its prey. Running in at full speed, the chimera dove toward the humanoid only to be side-stepped by Christian who was prepared to bring down the Zoid with a single blow, only to be countered by the demon's lances. If the Zoid could talk, it'd probably be talking shit to the young man about now as it whipped around and again drew both lances to the front. This time though, the cylindrical weapons charged with radiant blue light; it was clear the small Zoid had its fill of entertainment and was ready to end the existence of the one who chose to trespass on its domain.  
  
"That's quite enough, Daemon!" A voice called out in the distance which stopped the beast after a single step.  
  
Both man and machine turned to face the source of the voice, catching sight of a purple Diploguns sputtering in from the direction of the cabin; stopping just shy of being beside its chimera partner. "Open your optics, you clod! Can't you see that this is Master Christian you've been trying to gore?" The Diploguns scolded his partner. "I apologize for Daemon's actions, Master Christian; you weren't injured, were you?"  
  
"...oh! No-no, I'm fine." Chris replied after snapping out of a momentary trance, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure he just didn't recognize me, Raiden. I must admit that the thought escaped me as well..."  
  
"Too true..." commented the Diploguns, identified as Raiden as he circled around Christian, "I'm glad to see you safe, I was under the impression that we would never be seeing you again. Though... I'm quite perplexed about your current appearance; might I ask what has happened to you over the past year?"  
  
"I'm... sorry..." The land-based-beast interjected, hanging his head to the best of its ability.  
  
"It's okay, Daemon." Christian reassured the Demonshead with a smile before turning back to Raiden, "it's a... bit of a long story. Would you mind if we continued inside the house?"  
  
"Not at all, Master. Come along Daemon."  
  
Once inside the cabin, Christian proceeded immediately to the kitchen and exhaled quite loudly as he crashed down in a seat beside the main table. The rickety old wood held strong, but groaned in objection to the harsh thrust of weight upon it nonetheless.  
  
"Master Christian, might I inquire as to what became of Mistress Melissa."  
  
Without giving her brother time to answer, Mel's upper body appeared from the bulk of his orange wing, surfacing with a relieved smile on her face, "Oh! I'm right here!" she beamed.  
  
"Astonishing!" Raiden remarked, sputtering backward as a visual display of his excitement, "Mistress, I am most pleased to see you're safe as well! Although..." his tone taking a turn for the somber, "...this leads me to bring but more questions upon myself... Master Christian, have you any explanation for what my optics bear witness to?"  
  
"Not much of one..." Christian sighed, leaning back in the chair, pointing his face to the ceiling. "It happened about four or five days ago... I dunno, one minute I was fighting Danius, the next minute I woke up looking like this."  
  
"Danius? ...ah yes, Danius Gabriel. The young man who attempted to destroy Master Vykk's Descat before it completely evolved. Is that correct?"  
  
"You got it." Chris returned.  
  
"Hmm... records indicate that you yourself had slain the young man." Raiden added questioningly.  
  
"Unfortunately... not everything in this world is as cut and dry as that." Chris shot back, letting out yet another sigh.  
  
"I see..."  
  
"RAY-RAY!" called a squealing voice from upstairs, drawing Christian and Raiden to divert their attention as a short, brown-haired girl came thundering down the steps.  
  
"Ah! Mistress Rika! Good morning!" The Diploguns exclaimed joyfully, flying over to the little girl who promptly brought herself to climb atop the Zoid to give herself a better vantage point.  
  
"Who the heck are you!?" Demanded the girl, waving a pointed finger in Christian's face, "...that's my line." he promptly shot back, giving the girl a baffled look. "Don't you know it's rude to barge into people's houses uninvited!?" Rika screamed once more.  
  
"Mistress Rika, please show some respect." Raiden pleaded, floating away from Christian lest the girl leap at him in a fit of rage, "...that man you're screaming at is Master Christian Obscura. He's a very important person to both Daemon Kopf and I."  
  
The girl seemed to calm herself a little in accordance to the Diploguns wishes but continued to scowl at Christian, "Well... I still say he's a pretty rude guy."  
  
"Mistress Rika..." Raiden sighed, as hopelessly as he could conjure.  
  
"Hey Raiden, I'm gonna go use the shower. I'll be back down in a few..." Christian informed the floating Chimera, already half-way up the steps.  
  
"Don't go using up all the hot water!" The girl hollered.  
  
After ascending the steps, Christian made his way past a few doors and turned to the second door on the right, shutting and locking the portal after making his way in. Using the technique Danius had taught him, he sucked his wings and tail into his body and promptly threw off the black flight suit he'd been wearing for days. If it were able, his skin would be sighing in relief at the chance to get some fresh air for a change. His body, though emitting a strange funk, looked no different than it had before the encounter with Danius... save for a black mark on his back that otherwise marked the position his tail emerged from.  
  
Climbing into the tub, he turned both knobs to the right and closed his eyes, letting the water drench his entire being, "God, I'm so tired..."  
  
Back downstairs, Rika carefully hopped off of Raiden and climbed into the kitchen chair Christian had just been sitting in, "So... who is he, again?" She asked.  
  
"Master Christian is the man Daemon and I had been living with before coming here."  
  
"He seems weird..."  
  
"All humans are weird to me, Mistress Rika."  
  
"Even me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Is that a bad thing?"  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"How come he has wings? and a tail?"  
  
"I'm afraid I don't know that either..."  
  
"Will I have pretty wings and a tail when I grow up?"  
  
"I'm not sure... he's the first human I've ever seen to possess such features."  
  
"I want pretty wings like his... then I could fly like you do Ray-Ray!" The girl squealed, entertaining herself with delusions of soaring in the skies.  
  
The tub knobs squealed from being turned off, after stepping out of the tub, Christian wrapped a towel about his mid-section. Wiping the mirror free of condensation, he picked up a black comb lying on the sink and proceeded to comb his soaked blue hair back. He wasn't much in the mood to properly style it at the moment. "Dad was about the same age as me when he lived here... I wonder if his clothes would fit me." Scooping up his flight suit, Chris opened the bathroom door and slid back out into the hall.  
  
The room in the back... his parents' room. His hand quivered as it approached the knob, shaking violently as he attempted to turn the device. Creaking with age, the door slid open, revealing a calm, clean, empty view to his red eyes. On the inside of his mind though... all he could see was red, everything destroyed, his mother and sister's broken bodies lying helplessly exposed on the bed. Christian clutched his temple in pain and clenched his teeth, leaning on the door for support as his mind was flooded with new, horrific images courtesy of Mel's memories intertwining with his... showing him the monstrous details of what transpired in this room... the gruesome things he was too weak to prevent.  
  
"Christian..." Mel's voice trembled. 


	2. A Day to Recover

With each step Christian took, the aged steps moaned in agony and immediately sighed in relief; not being used to the weight being applied to them since it'd been at least a good ten years since having to endure such strain. Clad in a white button-up shirt and a loose-fitting pair of black jeans, formerly of his father Vega's ownership, Christian made the descent back downstairs. Visually it seemed the shower hadn't helped much in terms of clearing his complexion or the look of fatigue on his face.  
  
The girl Raiden had mentioned went by the name of Rika sat silently at the kitchen table, entertaining herself with a bowl of cereal while her short, little legs dangled mindlessly over the floor in their bent position.  
  
"Your head doesn't look like a fish anymore." She commented, spying Christian a look as he stepped away from the flight of stairs.  
  
"Huh?" He responded with a cocked eyebrow.  
  
"How long are you gonna be staying in my house?" Rika went on, not giving the young man the courtesy to expand on her previous topic.  
  
"You know... I used to live here..." He shot back, not taking at all well to the girl's attitude.  
  
"Finder's keeper's. My house now." The little girl fired right back.  
  
"Whatever." Chris sighed, turning to head out of the kitchen; leaving the girl to her lonesome once more. "She's gonna turn some poor boy gay when she gets older..." he muttered carelessly.  
  
Stepping past the crackling screen door, Christian found himself outside once again. After a quick sigh, took to sit down on the front porch. A gust of wind whipped up from the west causing his still-damp hair to stick to his skin, which provoked him to grab at his blue locks and tuck as many of them behind his ears as would fit. That's when his eyes spied Daemon Kopf wandering up to him in the awkward little way that the misshapen Zoid moved.  
  
"Daemon... is... glad... to... see... Christian... again..." the Demonshead grumbled, leaning back beside Christian into as much of a seated position as its super-structure would allow.  
  
Chris couldn't help but smile at the statement, unlike humans, Zoids were much, much more true to their feelings... most pilots could understand that fact easy enough. But when they could talk, just made it all the better... "I never spent much time with you guys, did I?" Christian asked, laying a gentle hand on top of Daemon's large cranium.  
  
"It... okay... Raiden... tell... Daemon.... that... humans... busy... busy..."  
  
"God he's so adorable! Lemme hug him!" Melissa squealed from her niche in the back of Christian's mind, "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!" she continued, not giving her brother the opportunity to object.  
  
"Fine, fine." He mumbled, standing back up. Daemon watched curiously as the man he called master stood up from the porch, circled around and sat beside him. A hint of red mist spewed from the left side of his back, bringing forth Christian's orange-colored wing; the projection inhabited by Melissa's soul... the visage of the girl's upper-body appeared from the bulk of the wing as she gleefully threw her arms around the lug of a chimera.  
  
Daemon Kopf's optics grew dim and a low rumble could be heard from his vocalizer, one might liken it to a cat purring.  
  
Inside the kitchen, Rika had finished nursing her cereal and was now situated atop a step-stool as she carefully washed her bowl and spoon in the sink. Raiden sputtered in, turning the corner from the guest bedroom into the kitchen, "Mistress Rika... has Master Christian finished with his shower?"  
  
"The fish-head went outside." Rika answered absent-mindedly, stepping down to the floor.  
  
"Fish-head?" Raiden asked, confused.  
  
"When he came into my house first, his hair looked like a blowed-up blow fish." She professed, picking up the step-stool; carrying it to a corner of the room so it'd be out of the way.  
  
"I... see... Thank you, Mistress. If you'll excuse me." Raiden finished politely, turning to head to the front-door. "WAIT!" Rika screamed, running up behind the Diploguns, "...Ray-Ray... do you like fish-head better than me?"  
  
"What makes you ask such a thing?"  
  
"Ever since fish-head showed up, you've wanted to spend more time with him than me!" The girl pouted, on the verge of tears as she wrapped her arms around Raiden as best she could. Causing the Diploguns to sigh, "Mistress... please try to understand. I have not seen Master Christian in quite some time, and as he's still my owner it is my duty to assist to him to the best of my abilities, and see to his well-being."  
  
"Okay..." Rika sniffled, drying her eyes on her thin arms, following behind Raiden as he floated toward the front-door. The pair exited their home and quickly came upon Daemon Kopf and Christian sitting together. Rika immediately changed her tone, so as not to show a sign of weakness to her presently sworn enemy, "Daemon! Come play with me!" she hollered, jumping the porch steps and running toward the fields. The Demonshead roared and followed after the girl as fast as his squat legs could manage.  
  
"This certainly brings up an interesting debate... are Zoids better care- takers than human parents?" Christian joked as he sat up, wiping the dirt off his jeans.  
  
"I'd think the natural birth-givers would be better suited." Raiden responded.  
  
"You'd be surprised..." Christian smirked, leaning against the wooden frame around the porch, "Humans have limited patience... even with ones they themselves created. Kids don't always act the way their parents want and vice versa, it's an endurance trial."  
  
"I see."  
  
"I'd forgotten how nice it is up here..." Chris lamented, stealing a look to the crystal blue sky above.  
  
"Quite. Master, if I may... what were you planning on doing with yourself now? Are you to be staying with Mistress Rika?"  
  
"Even if she wasn't here, I'd be saying no, Raiden. I need to get off Zi..."  
  
"Master?"  
  
"It's a feeling I've had for a while... I don't belong here anymore, Raiden. I need to get away, find somewhere else to go."  
  
"I'm afraid I don't entirely understand your situation, but rest-assured that you have my sympathies."  
  
"Thanks..." Christian sighed, his eyes following Rika who'd taken to riding atop Daemon off in the distance.  
  
"How were you planning to... leave Zi?" Raiden asked, almost timidly.  
  
"To tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure myself. I'd planned on sneaking into McGunigale Corp HQ in Twilight City to see if the company had ever invested into the creation of a space program. I'm pretty much riding on a whim and a hope..." confessed the young man.  
  
"I see. So what brings you out here, then?"  
  
"...was poking around the old base a few days ago, when Mel mentioned she sent you guys and my Zoids out here before the... incident went down. But, I haven't seen them around anywhere."  
  
"Mmm... the Mistress' words are true; Daemon and I accompanied your Glacier Fox, Geno Breaker, Konig Wolf, and Blade Liger here aboard one of the Whale King's. Upon our initial surveys of the area we happened across an old underground storage facility not far from here. We presume it belonged to your father as there were a number of parts and equipment suitable for a Berserk Fuhrer strewn about the facility. But, that is where they currently reside."  
  
"I never knew dad kept anything like that around here..." Christian mumbled.  
  
"All due respect Master, but I do believe humans lack the ability to detect the emissions of electronic equipment through solid ground."  
  
"True enough... so, are they still functional?"  
  
"Indeed, I perform regular maintenance on all the units; mostly as a precautionary measure."  
  
"Mostly?"  
  
"Well... Master, I must admit that I had always harbored a small degree of hope that one day either you or Mistress Melissa would return for them and us as well."  
  
"Aww... that's so sweet...." Mel swooned, re-appearing from the bulk of her feathery confines as she'd done moments before.  
  
"Thank you, Mistress." Raiden nodded politely.  
  
"Raiden, how long would it take to put Glacier back into full-battle condition?" Christian asked, interrupting the sappy little moment.  
  
"...six to eight hours, assuming you plan to assist with the workload as well as fine-tune his settings to your liking."  
  
"That sounds good; I wasn't in much of a rush anyway..."  
  
"When had you planned on departing, if I may ask?"  
  
"Sometime tomorrow... probably late. I need to get some sleep before I lose what's left of my mind."  
  
"Master, if you don't mind me asking; would it not be more efficient to simply fly there yourself?"  
  
"...I'm trying to keep a relatively low-profile, and as you well know, humans aren't prone to flying on their own... I was lucky when I went to Delpoi to look for Vykk and Kane but luck runs out. Besides, flying between Continents is tiring... and I'm gonna need to save some strength in case I run into resistance and need to make a quick get-away."  
  
"Understood. I'll begin work on the Glacier Fox's restoration after Mistress Rika goes to sleep for the night."  
  
"If I could, I'd nominate you for saint-hood, for putting up with that girl, Raiden..."  
  
"I think she's cute." Mel protested.  
  
"...I think she's a sniveling brat..." Danius broke in.  
  
The afternoon pressed on, slowly giving way to the onset of nightfall. Christian, Rika, and Raiden retreated to the interior of the house while Daemon Kopf remained outside, slumbering lightly in front of the screen door in an act of playing guard dog. Both Christian and Rika squared off over a tense dinner-setting, Raiden constantly floating at the end of the table between the two humans... delegated to the role of referee for the course of the meal. Christian was eventually ejected from the table for flinging noodles into Rika's hair and was forced to finish his meal in the living room.  
  
After finishing off a mighty bowl of Macaroni & Cheese, Rika flew upstairs accompanied by her beloved Diploguns and made the preparations for another night's sleep; which included a quick bath, brushing of her teeth and adorning a nighty that she'd found in the old clothes dresser in Melissa's former bedroom. Tucking-in duties completed, Raiden made his way back downstairs and out the door where he found Daemon and Christian sitting together on the porch similar as before.  
  
"The Mistress has turned in for the night; I'll take my leave now to begin preparing the Glacier Fox." Raiden informed the pair.  
  
Christian let out a mighty yawn, leaning back as he rubbed his weary ruby eyes, "Okay... I'll meet up with you in the morning for the final adjustments..."  
  
"Very well Master. I've left a portable tracking device on the kitchen table that's keyed into my communications frequency. Following the beacon will lead you to the storage facility." With that, the Diploguns turned and took flight to the north-west and was out of eye-sight within moments.  
  
"Well... night Daemon..." Christian spat out amidst another yawn, heading back into the cabin; leaving the Demonshead to his lonesome, "Good... night..." the beast called back.  
  
Two steps inside brought Christian to a musty, nappy, old looking couch that under normal circumstances wouldn't look at all comfortable, but in his sleep-deprived state; was more appealing and enticing than all the women on Zi, the blue-haired mess of a human smiled to himself; then left his body to the mercy of gravity as he came crashing down on the rickety piece of furniture. The couch could've broken into a billion pieces and a loose plank of wood stabbed him through the heart and he wouldn't have known... Chris was out cold before he hit the cushion. Fortunately for his heart... no such breakage occurred. Though, that didn't stop the couch from covering him in the dust that'd built up on it. 


End file.
